Revoluble book supports



y 1955 c. SCHAFFNER REVOLUBLE- BOOK SUPPORTS Filed May 19, 1952 C/auae Jan 3a f/zzer m,

Attorneys Unite States Patent REVOLUBLE BOOK SUPPORTS Claude Schaiiner, New Haven, Conn. Application May 19, 1952, fieriai No. 288,627

4 Claims. (Cl. 45--81) This invention relates to a book support or book rest, j,,

and more particularly to a device of this kind which is adapted to support a plurality of books in open position and so arranged that either of such books is readily available for use.

In many instances where research work is being undertaken, it is desirable to have two books available for ready reference. That is, the book support should be such as to hold the books in open position directly before the reader and should be movable so that any one of the books may be supported in proper position to be read. In the present instance this is accomplished by the provision of a pair of book supports (more may be provided if desired) rotatably mounted upon a standard or pedestal, the supports being arranged to support the books in inclined position where the one facing the reader may be readily read. When desired the user may simply, by swinging the support upon the pedestal, bring the other book into proper position to be read.

It is also desirable at times to provide means for holding an outline which may be a guide to the reading of one or both of the books upon the support, and in this case means is provided to support a guide at one side of the book supports where it will also be in full view of the user of the device and where it will not interfere with the rotation of the book supports to bring either of the books into a readable position.

In some instances it may be desired to support the device upon a desk or table or some other horizontal surface, while in other instances it may be desirable to support the device upon the knees of the reader particularly when the latter is in an inclined chair or is in bed. To this end I have provided a base member for the pedestal upon which the book supports are rotatably mounted such that it may be used either upon a flat surface or may conveniently rest upon the knees. The base is made of separable portions, the central portion being employed when the device is to be supported upon a desk or table or the like and end sections which are readily removable from and attachable to the cen tral section are employed when it is desired to support the device upon the knees.

It is also desirable to provide a device of this character of collapsible sections so that the sections may be readily taken apart and in some instances folded together in order that the entire device may be stored within a reasonably small space.

One object of the invention is to provide a new and improved book support for holding a plurality of books in inclined and open position so that any one of the books may be available to the reader as desired.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a device of this character which may be readily disassembled in order that the parts may be stored or packed within a relatively small space.

A further object of the invention is to provide a de vice of the character described in which a pair of book supports may be rotatably mounted upon a pedestal or the like and may be held by a retaining member in an inclined position diverging downwardly and outwardly, the two supports being hinged together so that when the retaining member is disengaged therefrom, they may be folded or collapsed together to occupy a relatively small space.

A further object of the invention is to provide a book support of the character described having a sectional base member upon which the pedestal is mounted, the sections of the base member being detachable from each other so that the device may be supported upon a flat surface or upon the knees of the user.

To these and other ends the invention consists in the novel features and combinations of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a book support embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view through the center of the device on line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a detail view showing the manner of hinging the book rest to the horizontal supporting rod;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on line 44 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the central portion of the base with the end portions removed; and

Fig. 6 is a side elevational view of the book rests or supports in folded or collapsed position.

To illustrate a preferred embodiment of my invention i have shown a book supporting member or book rest which comprises generally a base 10, a supporting pedestal 11 and a pair of inclined book rests or supports designated generally by the numerals 12 and 13.

The base consists of a central portion or section shown in Fig. 5 of open rectangular form comprising end or longitudinal members 14 and transverse members 15', the latter supporting a central plate 16 upon which is provided an upwardly facing internally threaded socket 17. Secured to the ends of each of the members 14 are coupling sleeves 18 provided with open ends as shown at 19 for a purpose to be hereinafter described. As shown in Figs. 1 and 5 the parts of this device are generally in a single plane so that it will rest flatly upon a table or other support.

In order that my device may not only be used when resting on a table or support but may also be rested upon the knees of the user, I provide a pair of end sections which are readily attachable and detachable from the central base section 10.

Each of these end portions comprises a portion 20 in the same plane as the center section 10 and a downwardly inclined end portion 21 which stands at an angle to the plane of the remainder of the base. This section of the base is also made of wires or rods as shown and the end portions 22 of the longitudinal extending rods are adapted to be received within the coupling sleeves 18, as shown in Fig. 4, to connect the end sections to the center section when desired. They may, of course, be readily disconnected by a longitudinal pull.

Threadedly mounted in the socket 17 is a standard or pedestal 11. The lower end of the pedestal is threaded, as shown at 26, so that it may be secured in the socket, and this member may be provided with a knurled portion 27 to facilitate the engagement of the threads 26 in the socket. At its upper end the pedestal 11 which is of rod-like form is provided with a slightly reduced portion 28 providing a shoulder 29 between the reduced portion and the body portion of the pod} estal 11.

Slidably and rotatably received upon the upper reduced portion 28 of the pedestal is a sleeve member 30, the lower end of this member resting upon the shoulder 29. The upper end of the sleeve member 39 is closed and is secured as by welding or brazing to a horizontal rod member 31. The sleeve and the member 31 comprise a T-shaped section rotatable upon the pedestal 11.

The book rests 12 and 13 are substantially alike so that a description of one will sufiice for the other. Each of these members comprises side rods 32 held together by transverse rods 33 the ends of which are secured to the side rods in any suitable manner. At their lower ends the rods 32 are turned upwardly and joined by the member 34 so as to provide a lower ledge on each of the supports against which the bottom of the book may rest. As illustrated, the side members 32 and the cross member 34 are integrally formed. If desired, the support may be strengthened at its lower end by L-shaped brace members 35 secured by brazing or welding to the cross members 33 and 34.

Each of the side members 32 at its upper end is provided with an eye 36 ivotally mounted upon the rod 31. The adjacent eyes at one end of the rod 31 may be spaced apart by a collar 37 and may be held in position upon the red by collars 38 secured in place by set screws 39.

It will be understood, however, that the book supports are rotatably or pivotally movable about the rod 31, and it is, therefore, necessary to provide means for holding them in their outward inclined positions shown in Figs. 1 and 2. To this end the upper of the transverse members 33 of each of the book racks or book rests 12 and 13 has secured thereto a bracket 40 providing an opening between this bracket and the body of the rod. A retaining member in the form of a U- shaped plate 41 having downwardly turned ends 42 is provided at its central portion with an opening 43 so that it may be slidably received upon the sleeve 30. This member will be prevented from becoming detached from the sleeve by an enlarged shoulder 44 at the lower end of the sleeve. The down turned ends 42 of the retaining member 41 are received in the openings between the brackets 40 of the members 33, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and as the member 41 is of rigid character the supports 12 and 13 will be held in their outwardly sloping inclined positions as illustrated.

When it is desired to fold the members 12 and 13 together the retaining member 41 can be raised upwardly upon the sleeve 30 as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2 so-that its ends 42 will be detached and the members 12 and 13 may then be moved pivotally to any desired position, for example to the folded position shown in Fig. 6. It may here be noted that one of these members, for example the member 12, is slightly shorter than the member 13 so that, as shown in Fig. 6, the ledge provided at the bottom of the member 12 will lie inwardly of the ledge on the member 13 so as to provide for a more compact folded position of these members.

As stated it is sometimes desirable to provide means for supporting an outline or pamphlet which may be used in connection with the reading of the books upon the supports 12 and 13. With this in view I have provided a sleeve member 45 which may rest upon the plate 16 and rotatably surround the socket 17. To this sleeve member is secured a horizontally disposed supporting wire or rod 46 having an upturned end 47 which may support a clamp or the like 48 for holding an outline or pamphlet in the proper position to be read by the user. It will be understood that the rod 46 lies below the lower ends of the book rests 12 and 13 in the positions shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and is of sufficient length so that neither it nor the clamping member 48 will interfere with the rotation of the supports upon the pedestal 11 in order to permit the user to read the books upon either of the supports.

It will be seen that the device may be readily disassembled into its various parts so that it may be conveniently stored or packed in a relatively small space. For example, the end sections may be removed from the central sections by merely withdrawing the ends of the wires or rods 22 from the coupling sleeves 18. The pedestal 11 may be removed from the socket 17 by being unscrewed therefrom, and the sleeve 45 with the rod 46 may then be lifted from the socket. Also the retaining member 41 may be moved upwardly to its dotted-line position shown in Fig. 2 to release the book supports 12 and 13 and the sleeve 30 may be removed upwardly from the reduced portion 28 of the pedestal 11 and the book supports together with the sleeve 30 folded to the position shown in Fig. 6. It will be understood that in this position the retaining member 41 has been rotated through an angle of degrees so that it lies substantially in the plane occupied by the book supports instead of a plane transverse to that of the supports as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. When the parts have been detached, as explained, they may be readily stored in a comparatively small packing carton.

While I have shown and described a preferred em bodiment of my invention, it will be understood that it it not to be limited to all of the details shown, but is capable of modification and variation within the spirit of the invention and within the scope of the claims.

What I claim is:

l. A support for a book or the like comprising a base, a pedestal rising therefrom, a support structure, said structure comprising an element rotatably mounted on said pedestal, a pair of downwardly depending rack members hinged to said element at their upper edges and a retaining member for holding said members in inclined positions diverging downwardly from their hinged edges, said means comprising a rigid member having downwardly turned ends, the body of said member being slidably carried by said pedestal, said rack members having openings in which the downwardly turned ends of said U- shaped member are received.

2. A support for a book or the like comprising a base, a pedestal rising therefrom, a support structure rotatably mounted on said pedestal, said structure comprising a pair of downwardly depending rack members, a bar to which said members are hinged at their upper edges, means rotatably mounting said bar on said pedestal and a retaining member for holding said members in inclined positions diverging downwardly from their hinged edges, said retaining member comprising a rigid member having downwardly turned ends, the body of said member being slidably carried by said pedestal, and said rack members being provided with eyes in which said down turned ends are received.

3. A support for a book or the like comprising a base, a pedestal rising therefrom, a support structure, said structure comprising an element rotatably mounted on said pedestal, a pair of downwardly depending rack members hinged to said element at their upper edges, and a retaining member for holding said members in inclined positions diverging downwardly from their hinged edges, said means comprising a rigid member having downwardly turned ends, the body of said member being slidably and rotatably carried by said pedestal, said rack members having openings in which the downwardly turned ends of said U-shaped member are received.

4. A support for books or the like comprising a base, a pedestal rising from the base and detachably secured thereto, a sleeve rotatably and slidably mounted on said pedestal, a horizontal bar carried by said sleeve, a pair of rack members pivoted to said bar at their upper ends, releasable means for retaining said members in inclined positions, each of said members having a ledge at its lower end, and the vertical dimension of one of said members being shorter than that of the other whereby when said 5 retaining means is released said members may be folded 695,810 closely together about said bar. 988,269 1,5 39,042 References Cited in the file of this patent 2,230,511

UNITED STATES PATENTS 181,737 Smith Aug. 29, 1876 6 Hill Mar. 18, 1902 Joyce Mar. 28, 1911 Dennis May 26, 1925 Luttrup Feb. 4, 1941 

